Why the White House ignores sexual abuse

Elizabeth Houston |Monday, February 12, 2018

John Podesta: Trump White House has made Rob Porter controversy 'worse almost every day'

Such a time emerged at 1:19 p.m. on Friday, as Blitzer, Dana Bash and David Gregory discussed President Trump's remarks about the departure of Rob Porter, who has been accused of physical abuse by two ex-wives, as the White House staff secretary.

The vice president's knowledge of the situation has come under scrutiny, though, amid aggressive finger-pointing within Trump's orbit.

Kelly, meanwhile, tried to push his own timeline concerning Porter in brief comments to The Associated Press and several other news outlets, repeating a narrative he had presented Friday at a senior staff meeting that contradicts accounts provided by multiple White House officials. Reuters has not independently confirmed the allegations against Porter, or against Trump.

Priebus said he did not know about the claims that have been made by Porter's ex-wives, telling Priebus that he always found the staffer to be "what everyone described".

Porter has denied the charges. Porter by his ex-wives certainly qualify as a basis for blackmail. He did a very good job while he was in the White House.

"I'm not going to get into specifics of who may have known pieces of information".

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration has "full confidence in Jim to lead ONDCP to make significant strides in combating the opioids crisis, reducing drug use, and coordinating USA drug policy". 'He did a very good job when he was in the White House and we hope he has a wonderful career'.

Kelly, in his "shocked" statement, included a line about domestic violence being "abhorrent and unacceptable". I was shocked when I read that President Trump's staff secretary, Rob Porter, had never been granted a permanent security clearance.

Porter had been under fire since Willoughby and Colbie Holderness, another of Porter's exes, shared their stories of domestic abuse and that they'd previously told the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

By Friday, the leaks of anonymous criticism of Kelly to the media turned into a flood.

The official said staffers felt misled by how Porter played down the allegations, both to Kelly and McGahn. Anonymous White House sources told The Hill that Kelly had suffered a serious blow to his standing, speculating about his future.

Porter's departure, along with Kelly under fire, could deprive the West Wing of some of its steadier hands and anxious some staffers that the sense of order that appeared to have been installed in recent months could evaporate. Apparently, Jared Kushner's not the only one to be afforded this inappropriate courtesy. The outlet also reported that former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had called Trump and urged him to fire Kelly. "I view her as an invaluable asset to the president and us all". "And in this case, those didn't work and we need to find out why", he told Fox News.

"It seems like the process they were supposed to have in place failed". He has covered just about everything since - the Pentagon, the White House, debates, elections, scandals. "I think he believes that the resignation was appropriate".